Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Are You a Plugger or a Zipper? by Morgan Mandel

Since being unemployed, I've spent more time writing. Still, it's slow going. On a usual day, I can get a little over 1,000 words done before mental exhaustion takes over and I just can't think any more.

On an exceptional day, 2,000 words happen.

Imagine my surprise when one of our blog members, Debra St. John, mentioned when she had an entire day to write, she zipped out 30,000 words! Good for Deb! That would take me at least 2 weeks of exceptional days for me to accomplish.

21 comments:

Hi, Morgan--cute! I began as a zipper, but now I am a plugger. Why? At first I knew nothing about writing properly so all I did was write the story--one after the other--very uninhibited. Now--I know too much and I'm much more inhibited when I write. I met with a beginning writer yesterday in our writing group, and she apololized to us for being ao ignorant--she said, You know, I only write, page after page, not even looking back to check for errors or anything. I told her--good for you, Faye! In my opinion, that's the way to do it. You can always edit and re-edit, but you've got to get the story down. Celia

I'm usually a plugger. That's why I love NaNoWriMo--I'm forced to zip, and it's like sticking your head out of the car window and feeling the air rush past, except you don't have anybody telling you to pull your head in before it gets knocked off.

I would've thought 'zipper' but not if 30k is the criterion for that! Yowza! That is truly incredible. I couldn't do it, and if I did, I wouldn't write again for a week, have to throw out all but the first 3-5000 anyway, so I might as well pace myself. Plugger then?

Sometimes I zip, others I plug. It depends on which character is talking to me that day. Although I could never write 30K in a day, even if I didn't leave my chair for 24 hours.Coffee breaks--and the resulting bio breaks--alone would make it impossible.

Morgan: I generally plug but sometimes I 'go' with a zip inspiration and write a whole scene that suddwenly occurs to me - then I have to print it out and stick it on my pile of noets to mlyself to keep from losing it before get to it - (I'm glad you can't see this desk -LOL!)Jackie Griffey

When I sub in English classes, I always tell the students to: barf it out, clean it up later. They laugh. But the reality is that if you don't get any words out, there won't be anything to edit and revise! Once I sit to write, I'm a zipper. It's finding the time to do it that's so hard!

By most people's standards I'm more of a zipper. I can do 4-5K in four to six hours. But I only have one day a week to write, so I want to make it worthwhile. I don't know if I could keep up that pace if I wrote ever day.

I'm just a slug! I get there sloooooooooooowly. No choice, never could touch type. I have been known to get up at three in the morning and work for most of the day. Sometimes achieve 2,000 words. But these days 1,000 words is an achievement. What does it matter? I can write as fast as my thoughts allow.